Laois boy with cerebral palsy to attempt brave walk on Christmas Eve
Reilly Kinahan will do his longest walk ever in Portlaoise with his stability dog Miller
A brave Laois boy Reilly Kinahan, 12, from Portlaoise is preparing for the longest walk of his life on Christmas Eve.
Reilly who has Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and Autism, will try to walk 3km with the help of his stability assistance dog Miller, a challenge he has set for himself that may be slow and could be painful.
A pupil of the Aoibhneas Autism unit in Scoil Bhride NS, Reilly is doing his walk to raise money and awareness of the Irish Dogs for the Disabled charity, because of the lifechanging help they gave him.
Reilly began to walk and run without a frame at the age of four. However he could not balance and fell and hurt himself daily. Three years ago his lab Miller arrived from the charity and with his help, Reilly has relearned how to walk straighter and keep his balance, pushing himself to go further all the time.
It is now six months since he last had a fall and he can walk up to 2km every few days.
"Miller helps me on walks. He helps me balance more properly and helps me not fall. He's very chilled out when he's not working with me, lying everywhere, just basically dead! His favourite thing to play in the whole wide world is with his ball," Reilly told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.
He was chosen as the charity's Laois champion, and Reilly is already a winner because within days of launching his fundraiser, it hit €2,000.
Reilly Kinahan from Portlaoise performing on the Toy Show with Ed Sheeran in 2021Credit: Andres Poveda Photography
His proud mother Yvonne Curtin told the Leinster Express / Laois Live about his brave challenge.
"Reilly is an amazing child. He chose to do this and give up his time on Christmas Eve. 3km will be his upper limit to walk, he will be in pain and very tired, it's definitely a challenge for him," she said.
Reilly has known he has Cerebral Palsy and Autism since he was diagnosed aged four, taking it in his stride.
"I always made sure that he had loads of confidence. I gave up work to care for him and do therapies every day.
"He would fall all the time because of his imbalance and bad habits in walking and running. He was crossing his legs and falling, he was used to it.
"When he is in school I used to get calls and he would be crying on the phone after a fall. He was cut all the time.
"When Miller arrived, he had to relearn how to walk with correct balance. He started by walking 100 metres and is now up to 2km every few days. Miller helped him with his core, his gait, his stability. It was the last piece of the puzzle for Reilly. He now walks without falling, even without Miller but he still needs him daily to keep it up," Yvonne said.
Reilly hopes to raise lots of money for the Irish Dogs for the Disabled charity.
"The stability dogs are given free to people of all ages with mobility issues, like CP, like Parkinsons, Multiple Sclerosis, Dystonia. It costs €15,000 to €20,000 to train each dog and Miller will be with Reilly until he retires.
"This year they picked 26 county champions to fundraise for them and Reilly is their champion for Laois. The money will go towards training more dogs, and to developing their national facility in Cork. It's an amazing service.
"When he walks on his own that's when I see it works, he isn't falling. I can see a huge boost in his confidence.," Yvonne said.
The more Reilly walks, the larger his muscles develop but it is not easy, with daily massages and exercises needed.
"He is fighting a battle all the time. In Cerebral Palsy your muscles are smaller and they shrink. Miller is helping him get stronger," his mother said.
"I think he's amazing. I'm so proud of him," she said.